The differences between ENG and JP (Spoilers)

[Anonymoose]

I saw this one making the rounds on Twitter and it kinda irked me, to be honest. Comparisons between the client languages are always presented without the surrounding context, and do not take into account how those characters have behaved in that client language for the last nine years. And that's assuming the person complaining has good reading comprehension of the gestalt of the scene in the first place which is, across that nigh-decade...let's call it "inconsistent".

G'raha Tia
I would not soon throw my life away, not after the length you and yours went to save it. And so long as I breathe, I will spare no effort to see you safely home. But, should all else fail, and your lives be at stake, there remains one sure method.

[Alisaie walks forward and flicks G'raha in the forehead]

G'raha Tia
OW! What was that for!?

Alisaie
How can you even entertain such thoughts!? You owe your life to the Warrior of Light and you don't get to die unless they say so!

Y'shtola
[smirks] Your followers await your divine judgement.

[Everyone freezes and looks at her, shocked and embarrassed]

Y'shtola
[laughing] If the two of you are finished, perhaps we could return to our discussion?

The entire point of the conversation to find new ideas for getting everyone home. G'raha backslides into sacrificing himself again, which everyone has already taken off the table. But he cares about and admires the Warrior of Light that much. Alisaie pounces on it because she, on the other hand, cares about and adores the Warrior of Light so much that she finds their time, effort, and friendship so valuable that for G'raha think so little of his own life is ungrateful - immoral, even. But she's Alisaie so her phrasing is clumsy.

Y'shtola realizes that they've gone off the rails; these are outdated, unhelpful, emotionally-charged conversation points. She's deliberately cutting to the quick by kicking them in the shins to interrupt it - highlighting that they're putting the Warrior of Light on a pedestal they never asked to stand on.

That's what she does: deadpan humor that goes for the jugular. She's spent nine years in the English client as someone who keeps a steely, professional persona that she uses as a crutch even in social situations. She spent her entire adolescence in a cave alone with a cantankerous old mage; her social skills suck. She doesn't know what to do without her professionalized scripts.

We've seen her slowly come out of her shell over these nine years, and usually it manifests as deadpan jokes that cut deep and reveal just how much she's paying attention, just how well she knows her companions, and just how much she actually cares.

In Japanese, it's "Well, clearly they're both in love with you." The English client also makes subtle, [What if G'raha's admiration is also love? / What if Alisaie's adoration is also love?] nods, but it walks a tightrope with it because the story is whatever you want it to be. Every player has to be able to say, "Alisaie is in love with me, G'raha's just a sappy friend." or "G'raha's in love with me, Alisaie's just an overzealous kid." or "They've both got crushes but I'm out."

But the scene is about G'raha killing himself for the good of the Warrior of Light vs. Alisaie declaring that he doesn't get to die until the Warrior of Light says so. The're both being naive about a grave matter and Y'shtola is chiding them for it by pointing out that they're treating the Warrior of Light like a god who need only speak one word to arbitrate whether G'raha Tia is to live or die to their benefit.

How is this at all weird or inconsistent? That's the Y'shtola we've known all along. It's enough to say, "I think the way Japanese has portrayed her all these years resonates with me better." without attacking the localization team using cherry-picked one-liners to prop up your case on the shock of seeing how the butterfly effect has caused context to diverge far enough that one line's intent is manifested through totally different presentations.

The intent was the same in every language: Y'shtola says something deeply accurate and personal to shock them out of their naivete and get the conversation moving.